Uni App: should you start planning as a 14 year old?

We often get asked by parents and counselors how early the university application planning process can start, and what elements should be prioritized.

As we built considerable experience running explorer bootcamps for G9-10 students around the world, here is our take:

1) Begin early.

While it really depends on the level of maturity and motivation of each individual student, typically around 9th and 10th Grade (Year 10 and 11) is a good time to start

"9th and 10th Grade is a good time to start"

2) Start broad and narrow gradually.

To get students to answer critical questions such as “where should I study?” or “what should I study?”, it's important to take a long view. We start with a vision boarding exercise, to really push students to flex their imagination and take it to new heights, before narrowing that down into specific and concrete steps

"Vision boarding exercises push students to flex their imagination and take it to new heights"

3) Write it down.

Once a plan is formed, write down the main milestones and stepping stones with dates. Plenty of research shows how people are more likely to achieve goals they have written down. We craft an individualized, custom roadmap for each student at the end of the bootcamp, which students can go back to (or hang in their rooms!)

"People are more likely to achieve goals they have written down"

4) Reach out to experts.

So much information is trapped into people’s brains, as opposed to being readily available on the internet. Speaking one-on-one to experts in a field can transform your level of knowledge and awareness of what’s required to succeed. For high school students, it’s no different. Reach out to your networks to get insights into areas students showed interest in, to validate their ideas about it and formulate actionable next steps. At Millie, we successfully match our bootcamp and mentoring program students with the most relevant industry mentors (from our network of over 1,100) for bespoke guidance.

"Speaking one-on-one to experts in a field can transform your level of knowledge"

We hope these tips were helpful. If you are ready to take action, then you should consider joining our one-week, in-person University Explorer Summer Camp. Hosted at the superb location of Surval Montreux, a premiere all-girls boarding school in Montreux, Switzerland, the program is designed to help girls get a head-start with their global uni prep journey.

Download the MILLIE x Surval University Explorer Summer Camp program’s brochure here or if you are ready to pack, sign up here.